Bittersweet
by tiffywiffyfluffykitty
Summary: Naruto and Naruko, completely inseparable twins. At least, until Sasuke accidentally kills Naruko in the Valley of the End. Driven by grief, Naruto swears to kill Sasuke for the death of his twin, but when the time comes and Naruto has his chance... can he actually deal the final blow?
1. Chapter 1

**I think this idea is pretty overused, but I hope the plot that comes later in the story makes up for it. Or it's already used. I'm not sure. I wasn't planning on writing and publishing this until later, but I just thought about it and I'm like, wow this is a pretty good idea! So I wrote it and it was not bad, actually. I hope you guys like it and I'm sorry for those who are waiting for updates on my other fanfictions! I'm working on those as well!**

**In truth, this fanfiction should take about 20 chapters maybe if they continue to be longish ones so I'll take the chance. Review what you think so far! And yes, in this one Naruto doesn't like Sakura but Hinata. Sorry, but I'm not a NaruSaku shipper. You'll see more NaruHina in the later chapters. **

**Review please! **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Two twin flashes of orange raced through the leafy foliage. Footsteps thudded on the branches and someone yelled as a twig caught in their hair.

Naruto Uzumaki laughed as his twin sister shrieked with surprise and pain. "Ha, loser!"

Naruko Uzumaki snarled and leapt forward, leaving a clump of long blonde hair behind. "Shut up!"

The siblings panted as they raced each other, each wanting to be the first to the Academy. They had finally done it; finally passed their tests and graduated to genin level. Their father had promised they'll have an outstanding mentor and Naruko had a sneaky suspicion as to who it was, but was as ignorantly excited as Naruto was.

The red building finally came into view and the twins put on a last burst of speed, erupting out of the trees and landing feet first past the gates.

"I WIN!" they both cheered at the same time. They looked at each other.

"I got here first!" Naruto yelled.

"No, me!" Naruko shouted back.

"Guys stop it!" their mother, Kushina, said exasperatedly as she walked out of the trees, long red hair waving gently to the pace of her walk. "It was a tie."

Naruko pouted, but her face brightened as she saw a familiar face. "Sasuke-kun!" she shouted, waving eagerly.

Naruto snorted. "What's so good about that show-off?"

His sister stuck her tongue out at him. "Better than you'll ever be, dobe!"

As Naruto spluttered over his sister's use of Sasuke's derogatory term for him, Sakura Haruno, a rival of Naruko's for Sasuke's attentions, sidled up to Sasuke and engaged him in a conversation, much to Naruko's frustration.

Kushina laughed. "Naruko, it's not anything serious."

"Mom! It is serious! What if Sasuke decides he likes Sakura instead of me?!" Naruko protested.

"He won't, sweetie. He'll see how smart and beautiful you are when you're older and fall head over heels for you." She winked at her daughter and ushered her towards the doors of the Academy. "Now, isn't it time to see who your new teammates will be?"

Naruko perked up. "Yeah, 'ttebayo! Come on, Naruto!"

He grumbled a little but jogged after her. "Wait up, fatty!"

"Who did you call fatty?!"

"Not you, Chōji!"

Kushina smiled and looked up to where she knew the Hokage's office was located. Her smile broadened when she saw Minato looking down upon her standing on the Academy grounds and knew he had seen his children enter the Academy only a few seconds ago. There was a faint motion as if Minato had beckoned her over to his office. Kushina nodded and entered the building, walking up to the office and entering.

"How are they?" Minato asked, smiling as he greeted his wife with a hug and a kiss.

Kushina laughed. "Same as ever. Excited and Naruko's obsessing over Sasuke."

The Hokage frowned. "I think I should have a talk with that boy."

Kushina elbowed him in the ribs. "Oh please. They're too young to do anything."

"But around my baby—"

"She's growing up, Minato. Besides, I think Naruto has his eye on someone as well. I see him looking at her when I pick them up." She giggled, sounding much like a schoolgirl.

"Who?"

"The Hyuuga girl."

"Hinata?!" Minato's eyes widened. "I thought he liked that Sakura girl."

"Oh he did. Until she slapped him because she thought he put a frog in her bag when it was actually Naruko." Kushina shook her head amusedly. "He's a little wary of her now."

Minato frowned a bit. "I thought he would be like his father."

"Hinata's a nice girl and I think she likes Naruto back. Who knows, maybe something will bring them together in the future." She hopped onto the Hokage's desk and sat there, swinging her legs a bit. "I'm happy you chose him to be their mentor."

"Of course. I trained him myself," Minato boasted, sitting down next to his wife on his desk in a completely unprofessional behavior. "Of course, if he's not always late that is…"

Kushina hummed in response. "A four man team, huh," she murmured. "Rare."

"I wanted to keep Naruko and Naruto together. Besides, there weren't an even amount of genins to form proper three man teams." Minato tilted his head and rested it on Kushina's shoulder. "But I don't think Naruto will be too happy with the arrangement…"

* * *

Iruka picked up a clipboard. "We tried to balance each team's strength…"

A collected scream of "WHAT!" echoed through the room.

"No arguing!" he snapped and began rattling off the names and team numbers. There were a lot of groans and cheers, glares and smiles, complaints and jubilant agreements.

"Team Seven!" Iruka said. "This is a rather unusual team since it consists of 4 rather than 3 members." He cleared his throat. "Sakura Haruno, Naruko Uzumaki…"

"WHAT?!" the girls shrieked.

"NO WAY AM I TEAMED UP WITH BILLBOARD BROW!" Naruko screamed.

"That's my insult!" Ino Yamanaka shouted, but she looked pleased nonetheless.

"No arguing!" Iruka snapped again. "Naruto Uzumaki…"

"HECK YES!" the Uzumaki twins shouted, fist pumping.

"… and Sasuke Uchiha."

"NO!" Naruto yelled, but he was drowned out by the screams coming from Naruko and Sakura and the jealous complaints from the other girls. He peeked over at Hinata and was surprised and a little disappointed to see her looking so upset. Thinking she was jealous of not being on the same team as Sasuke, he frowned and turned back around, feeling his stomach drop a little.

"Tch," Sasuke muttered. "Waste of my time."

"Team 8!" Iruka yelled. "Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame!"

Naruto dropped his eyes, disappointed that he wasn't on the same team as Hinata. Naruko, noticing, elbowed him and smiled sympathetically but laughed loudly in his face a second later.

"Team 10! Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Chōji Akimichi!"

"No surprise there," Naruko muttered to Naruto.

"Alright! This afternoon, we'll introduce the jounin leaders. Take a break until then!"

* * *

"This sucks," Naruto grumbled as they trooped up the stairs to the Hokage's office.

"At least we're on the same team. And aah~ I'm on the same team as Sasuke-kun!" Naruko squealed.

"I wish I was on the same team as Hinata…"

"Cheer up, it's not like you'll never see her again."

As soon as Naruko opened the door, Naruto was bounding into the office yelling, "Dad! Why did you put Sasuke-teme on our team?! And why didn't you put Hinata?!"

"See? I told you he likes her," Kushina said from where she leaned against the desk, smirking with her arms crossed.

Minato sighed, but before he could say anything, Naruko had thrown her arms around him in a tight hug. "Dad! Thank you so much for putting Sasuke-kun on my team!"

"Now I wish I haven't," he muttered, too low for his daughter to hear.

"Naruto, your hair is a mess," Kushina said, reaching for her son's spikes.

"It's always like that," he said, inching away from her as he saw her pull a comb from a pocket of her dress. But his mother caught him a second later and began to pull a comb through his blond hair. "Ow!" he yelped as the comb snagged.

"This wouldn't have happened if you combed it this morning!" She let go and Naruto stumbled away, wincing and massaging his scalp. Kushina sighed heavily. "Sometimes I wish Naruto or Naruko was a redhead. Or at least inherited my eyes."

Minato laughed nervously. "Sorry, Kushina. They didn't inherit my last name."

"And thank goodness they didn't! There aren't enough Uzumaki's left!"

"There aren't enough Namikaze's left either! Naruto! Change your last name right now! Inherit your father's legacy!"

"No way, 'ttebane! He's keeping his mother's last name!"

Naruto and Naruko exchanged amused, exasperated looks. Having heard this argument more than enough times, they decided it was better to leave than be caught up in their parents' squabbling.

"We're just going to go now…," Naruko said, strolling to the door, sandaled feet skipping over the tiles while tucking her hands in her orange shorts.

"Yeah… bye," Naruto said, barely holding in a broad grin.

"Have fun! Minato, my clan was almost annihilated—"

"Be safe you two! Kushina, have you heard of any other Namikaze's—"

"They're so silly," Naruko said, closing the door.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Should we go back? Maybe our team leader's already there."

"I can't wait to see Sasuke-kun again!"

Behind her, Naruto made a face but followed his sister.

* * *

"He's late," Naruto grumbled.

Nearby, Naruko and Sakura alternated between glaring at each other and gazing dreamily at Sasuke, who sat with his elbows propped up and his fingers interlaced before him, his dark brooding eyes fixed on the chalkboard.

"When is he gonna get here? All the other teams met their sensei's already!" Naruto moaned.

"Naruto, shut up," Naruko and Sakura said simultaneously.

Glaring at the two girls, the boy grabbed the chalkboard's eraser and wedged it between the door and the doorframe.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Heh. Serves him right for being late." He jumped down from the table.

"As if a jounin would fall for a trap like that," Sasuke snorted disdainfully.

"I think it's gonna work!" Naruko said confidently.

"Then you're an idiot," Sakura said, turning her head away and whipping her pink hair around so that it smacked Naruko in the face.

"Why you little—" Naruko lunged at Sakura, but just then, the eraser fell.

Kakashi Hatake blinked with surprise as the eraser fell on his head. Naruto's jaw dropped open, as did everyone else's but Sasuke's though he did raise an eyebrow.

"Kaka-baka!" Naruko squealed, launching herself at the man. Naruto was closer, however, and had already wrapped his arms around Kakashi's waist.

"Don't call me that," Kakashi sighed, untangling himself from the twins. "And I'm your jounin leader now so don't treat me so casually either."

"You know him?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, he comes by our place a lot!" Naruko said, grinning.

"Huh, guess it pays to be the Hokage's children," Sasuke muttered.

"Alright get off me." Kakashi pulled the two blondes off and stepped back. "Hello, I'm your new team leader, Kakashi Hatake. Let's go." He turned around and sauntered out the door. Naruto and Naruko immediately followed, chattering happily. Behind, Sasuke and Sakura were left in silence.

"Might as well," Sasuke sighed, hands in pockets as he strolled out the door.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun wait for me!" Sakura said, hurrying after him.

* * *

"So… I guess introductions are first. Tell me… hmm… how about your names, hobbies, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future… stuff like that." Kakashi leaned against the railing as he spoke.

"You first," Sakura said. "You look pretty shady to me."

Kakashi seemed to smile. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes, dreams for the future…well, I have a lot of hobbies… oh well, your turn."

The Uzumaki twins roared with laughter, but Sakura and Sasuke just stared at him blankly.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Hokage! I like cup ramen and Ichiraku's! I hate waiting the three minutes for the cup ramen to cook and I'm gonna be Hokage one day!" He grinned widely.

"I'm Naruko Uzumaki, daughter of the Hokage. I like ramen too and, uh, well…" Naruko blushed and shyly glanced at Sasuke before continuing. "I don't like waiting 3 minutes for the cup ramen to cook either and I'm gonna be the first female Hokage!"

"Nothing surprising," Kakashi said dryly. "Next."

Sasuke didn't even look at Kakashi. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There's a ton of things I don't like and not a lot that I do like. I don't have a dream, exactly, but I have an ambition and that is to resurrect my clan… and kill a certain man."

Naruko and Sakura squealed inside while Naruto gulped. Kakashi seemed to narrow his eyes knowingly. "Next."

"I'm Sakura Haruno. The thing I like is… well, the person I like is… ummm should I say my dream for the future?" She blushed as well as she looked sideways at Sasuke. "My hobby…"

"Laaaame," Naruko said.

Kakashi sighed. "Ok enough. We'll start our duties tomorrow."

"Alright! What kind of duties?" Naruto asked.

"First… survival training."

This time, even the twins gave him blank stares.

"Why is our duty training?" Sasuke asked. "We already did enough training at the Academy."

Naruko and Naruto were already protesting loudly, pouts on their faces.

"I'll be your opponent," Kakashi said. "Not some classmates. You'll be going against a Jounin."

"Then what is it?" Naruko asked, leaning forward.

Kakashi snickered. "Well… just that of the 28 graduates, only 9 will be chosen as genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training is super difficult with a failure rate of over 66%!"

"But aren't we already genin?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Nope. That's just to select those that have the chance of becoming genin."

"NO WAY!" Naruto, Naruko, and Sakura screamed.

"Anyway, meet on the training field at dawn. Bring all your tools and don't eat any breakfast or you'll throw up." He handed out sheets of paper. "See you!" With a puff of smoke, Kakashi disappeared.

Naruto and Naruko exchanged glances. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to give Kakashi a piece of my mind," Naruko said.

"Same."

The twins stood and jumped away, screaming for Kakashi to come out of hiding.

"Idiots," Sasuke said, standing up. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called. In her mind, her alter-ego snickered. _At this rate, Sasuke-kun will be mine and Ino-pig and Naruko-brat will be left in the dust! SHANNARO!_


	2. Chapter 2

**I know I'm probably going really slow with this story, but I kind of want to add more clues in before I get to the really big parts. So don't worry, the Chuunin Exams are coming soon! But not until maybe Chapter 4 or Chapter 5. I'm not sure yet. Bear with me here and I hope you thought this chapter was interesting! Review please!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"We're home!" The Uzumaki twins shouted as they burst through the door.

Minato and Kushina looked up, smiling warmly. "Welcome home, 'ttebane! How was—"

"WE"RE GENIN!" they cheered/bellowed as they jumped around the house with wide grins on their faces. "Sakura was being stupid—"

"Naruko got tied up—"

"So did you, dobe!"

"Teme used his Fireball Jutsu! It was actually cool…"

"And Kaka-baka pulled out one of his nasty books—"

"And Sakura was nice to her—"

"I wanted Sasuke-kun to give me his bento!"

"But I wish we caught the bells—"

"And Billboard Brow thought Sasuke-kun was dying, the idiot—"

"And I almost got a bell—"

"Whoa, whoa hold up!" Minato said, laughing as he held up his hands to stop the barrage of chatter. "Sounds like you both passed."

"THAT'S RIGHT, DATTEBAYO!" they cheered/bellowed again.

Kushina, grinning, embraced them. "I knew you'd do it. That's why I made something good for dinner."

"MISO RAMEN!" they cheered/bellowed, jumping around.

"Go wash your hands first!" their mother yelled.

Naruto and Naruko raced for the one bathroom in the house while Kushina ladled out the ramen into large floral patterned bowls.

Minato leaned back on the sofa, smiling. "I knew Kakashi would pass them."

"You didn't pull any special favors, did you?"

He shook his head. "It's because he knew that that even if they don't get along sometimes, they'll always have each other's backs. They'll always care for each other." He closed his eyes. "Just like him and Obito and Rin."

Kushina wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss into his blonde spikes. There was no need for words; only her understanding and shared pain as they remembered Minato's two deceased students.

With a sound like a stampeding herd of elephants, Naruto and Naruko charged back into the kitchen. "Ramen!" they yelled.

Their parents laughed. "Coming right up!" Kushina said, going into the kitchen. Minato smiled as he watched the twins eagerly clamber into their seats, their eyes widening as their mother placed the extra large bowls in front of them. "Itadakimasu!"

"So what's your mission for tomorrow?" Kushina asked, sitting in front of them.

"Umm… I dunno," Naruto said between large bites of ramen. "Kakashi-sensei didn't say."

"When did you start calling him sensei?" Naruko asked, surprised.

"Cause that's what I'm supposed to do. Right, Dad?" Naruto asked, looking at Minato, who nodded approvingly.

Naruko paused. "I'll call him sensei too."

"That's my girl." Kushina stood. "I'm going to take a bath. Naruko, you're on dishwashing duty tonight."

"Awwww…."

"I'm done!" Naruto said, jumping up. Just then there was a knock on the door. "Who's that?"

Minato, sensing a familiar chakra signature, hid a grin. "Why don't you go find out?"

Naruto opened the door and his eyes widened. "ERO-SENNIN!"

"Jiraiya!" Kushina said, surprised. "I didn't know you were back in Konoha."

"Neither did I," Minato admitted, getting up to greet his former teacher. "So, how was your 'research' in Getsugakure?"

"Minato! Not in front of the twins!" Kushina scolded.

"Hey, hey guess what?" Naruto said, grinning. "I worked on something new I wanna show you!"

Naruko reddened. "NARUTO DON'T YOU DARE!"

"Don't worry I changed some of it!" He put his hands together in the Ram seal. "SEXY NO JUTSU!"

"SEXY _WHAT_?" Kushina screamed. She screamed again when she saw her son transformed into a naked woman with long black hair posing suggestively in front of Jiraiya, who had his "research" face on.

Minato looked like he didn't know whether to be mad or laugh.

"CHANGE BACK INSTANTLY!" Kushina roared, hair flying up. As soon as Naruto did, she punched him in the face, sending him clear across the room, through the wall, and out onto the street.

Naruko slipped under the table and attempted to crawl away, but her mother tugged her up, still furious with Naruto. "Did you know about this?" she hissed.

"He showed me a few weeks ago," Naruko babbled, terrified. "He looked like a lot older me with huge breasts and stuff but then I yelled and-and-and—."

Snarling, Kushina dropped her and stalked towards the door, where Naruto had reappeared, nursing a black eye. Minato held her back. "Don't be rash. I'll talk to him, alright?"

"No, it's alright!" Jiraiya said gleefully. "Naruto! You have to teach me that jutsu!"

"Not helping, Jiraiya," Minato sighed.

Kushina sighed and turned away. "Naruto, who taught you that jutsu?"

"I invented it," he muttered. "Lots of guys like girls who look like that. I used it on Ebisu once. It worked."

"It worked on Ebisu?" Minato echoed. "I didn't know he was interested in uh, that kind of stuff."

"He used the Harem Technique," Naruko sighed.

"Harem Tachnique?" Jiraiya asked excitedly.

"Jiraiya!" Kushina said furiously. "Don't encourage him!"

Naruto grinned mischievously. "Yup. I used Kage Bunshin and the Sexy Jutsu." He looked at his parents. "Naruko could do it too, but she turns into a guy."

"Naruto!" Naruko yelled, blushing and yet blanching at the same time.

Minato shook his head and shooed them off. "Go to bed, guys. But tomorrow, we're going to have to talk about this jutsu, alright?"

The twins nodded, bid Jiraiya and their parents goodnight, and sped off into the bathroom and their respective rooms.

Jiraiya chuckled and went to sit at the dining table. "Those are some talented kids."

Kushina sank into the sofa. "My son has become a pervert," she groaned, burying her head in her hands. "Next thing I know he's going to go do 'research' with you and then Minato will have to lock him up for peeping at the hot springs—"

"I'm not going to lock him up," Minato said with half a laugh. He sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he won't do it again." He suddenly looked thoughtful. "Although that might make quite a diversion technique."

"A _very_ good diversion technique," Jiraiya agreed.

"Minato!" Kushina wailed.

He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "Just a thought, Kushina."

"I'm not going to let you corrupt my son like you corrupted Kakashi with those books of yours," she hissed at Jiraiya, who held up his hands in a pacifying way.

"I won't!" he said hastily.

She nodded firmly and stood. "I'm going to go tuck them in and go to sleep as well. Don't stay up too long, Minato. Jiraiya, if you want to stay the night, you can have the couch."

"Don't worry, I won't be staying for long," he assured her.

"Goodnight, Kushina," Minato said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it before she walked away and disappeared into the hall.

They waited for her footsteps to fade away before speaking. "Is there something wrong?" Minato asked softly in case the twins were eavesdropping.

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not really. Just wanted you to know I caught sight of Itachi Uchiha. It turns out he joined Akatsuki, a mercenary group. Perhaps he wanted to atone somehow."

Minato shrugged. "The Sandaime told me that the Uchiha Incident was started because of Danzo and I believe him. He never really liked the Uchiha because of Kushina's kidnapping when she was pregnant." He rolled his eyes. "Everyone knew it was Kirigakure since they hold a grudge because… what they planned for Rin didn't work out, but Danzo insisted the Uchiha were trying to take over Konoha with the Kyuubi."

"Stupid old man," Jiraiya muttered. "The Uchiha were powerful; it was stupid to move against them but no, he had to manipulate Itachi and now look what happened. I wouldn't be surprised if that Sasuke kid murders Danzo in his sleep."

"Sandaime shouldn't have spared Danzo," Minato said grumpily. "Kushina was devastated when Mikoto died…"

"Rumors are that Konoha is weaker now that the Uchihas were wiped out. There was talk of invasion, but no one's stupid enough to do that."

"I'll have the Jounin and the ANBU keep an eye out for stuff like that."

"You better. Those rumors were getting pretty nasty. You should think about what to do to build up Konoha's reputation again."

"Changing history would be nice."

"Yeah."

Jiraiya stood. "I spoke to the Great Toad Sage. He said there was great change and a tragedy happening soon. I don't know what it means, but you should watch out."

Minato stood with him. "Thank you for telling me this. I'll keep you posted if anything happens."

"Alright." They walked to the door and Jiraiya opened it, revealing the night. "By the way, any news of Tsunade?"

"No, but I did hear rumors of a lady who keeps gambling and losing somewhere in the east. Perhaps you should try there."

Jiraiya chuckled. "That I will do. Send me a message via toad if you find out more!" With a flicker, he disappeared.

Smiling, Minato closed the door and turned to see Kushina leaning against the wall, watching him. "I thought you went to bed," he said, going over to her.

"I overheard your conversation." She looked up at him. "The prediction from the Great Toad Sage... I'm worried about the tragedy. I did promise Mikoto that if anything happened to her I'll take care of Sasuke and Itachi. I failed once, I won't fail again."

"Don't worry about it," he soothed her. "It might not even be about Sasuke." He kissed her again, this time on the lips. "Let's go to sleep. I have a meeting tomorrow with the councilors."

She nodded and they turned off the lights in the kitchen and living room before retiring for the night.

* * *

"Oh my cute Tora-chan I was so worried!" a plump woman squealed, rubbing her face against the yowling cat's fur.

Minato watched with amusement as Kakashi, Naruko, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura glanced at the woman with dubious faces. He chuckled a little to himself and picked up a small piece of paper. "Nice job, Team 7. Now your next mission… babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in a neighboring village, and helping with the potato digging."

"No way!" Naruto yelled, crossing his arms in an X. "I want to do a more incredible mission, 'ttebayo! Find us a better one!"

From the faces of Naruko, Sasuke, and Sakura, they seemed to agree while Kakashi looked exasperated.

Minato sighed. "Naruto, you're just a rookie. Everyone starts with the simple duties and works their way up."

"But we keep getting the crappiest duties!" Naruko yelled.

"Shush!" Kakashi said, bopping her on the head.

The Yondaime sighed. It gets really hard trying to see his son and daughter from the perspective as the Hokage instead of a father and at times like these, it was especially hard. "New genins always start from the smaller duties like D-rank. But from the statistics, you guys have made a pretty good team. You work efficiently and work hard. I guess it is time for a C-rank mission."

All at once they perked up. "Yay! Thanks Da— I mean, Hokage-sama!" Naruko squealed.

"It's a protection mission of a certain individual," Minato continued, ignoring the lapse. He lifted his head. "Hey, can you come in here?"

The door slid open and Team 7 whipped around eagerly. They were met with the sight of an old man with cheeks flushed from alcohol bearing a large pack on his back. "Hey, what's this? They're all just a bunch of brats."

Minato kept a smile on his face, tamping down the feeling of wanting to uppercut the man for calling his children "brats". "This is Tazuna, a bridge builder. You are to escort him back home safely so that he may complete the bridge."

"Da— Hokage-sama, really?!" Naruto yelled. "I thought it would be a princess or somebody like that! Not this old geezer!"

"Show respect to your elders," Minato said primly. "Kakashi, would you like to start your mission today or tomorrow morning?"

"Today is good," he replied.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "I've never been outside the village before."

"Neither have I, idiot," Naruko said. She shyly turned to Sasuke. "Have you been outside the village before, Sasuke-kun?"

"Once or twice," he replied, not looking at her.

"What was it like?" Sakura asked, quick to jump in.

"Nothing particularly interesting."

Kakashi cleared his throat to capture their attention. "Go home, get your things and meet me at the gates in an hour. Bring extra kunai and shuriken. See you!" With a cheery wave, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke turned and left without a word, hands in his pockets. Sakura scurried after him and Naruko looked like she wanted to as well, but Naruto bounded to his father and gave him a hug. "Bye, Dad! See you!"

Minato laughed. "Be safe, Naruto. You too, Naruko."

Naruko went and hugged him as well. "Bye Daddy!" The twins leapt away and raced out the door.

"No favoritism, Minato," Iruka, the teacher at the Academy, teased.

"That wasn't favoritism," Minato replied rolling his eyes. He sat up again as Kurenai and her team enters the room. "Come on, back to work."


End file.
